Day 8, September 6, Saturday

Apologies for the color, I guess my cut & paste wacked out.  The whole entry is off.  Sorry.

Wow, the 3rd checkpoint has been completed in Madawaska, Maine.

Madawaska

Madawaska, Maine serves as one of the Four Corners of the United States, as it is the most Northeasterly town in the country. It is situated on the International Border, across from Edmundston, the largest city in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada. Madawaska is the industrial center of the St. John Valley and Home to the internationally known Fraser Paper, Inc., the Northern Trading Cosmetic Company, and a exceedingly hardworking and dedicated labor force. Madawaska holds great potential for economic opportunity and growth. 

The town is home to a strong agricultural community, which is responsible for growing famous Maine potatoes, known all over for their consistently high quality. With each fall brings another potato harvest, when local schools provide release time for students to help with the work. 

Maine State records show two separate acts of incorporation for the town of Madawaska, the first in l831 and the second in 1869. The original territory encompassed an area more than 4,200 miles, known as the Madawaska Settlement. It was more than 118 times the size of the ordinary Maine or United States Township; no other town of such magnitude has ever been created in Maine or any other state. The name "Madawaska" was actually derived from the Iroquois Indian word, which literally translated means "Land of the Porcupine". 

Today, Madawaska is a vibrant community of just under 5,000 people, most of whom are of Acadian descent and speak fluent French. Year round festivals and events including, the Acadian Festival, and the International Snowmobile Festival are not to be missed.

They arrived after dark, very carefully, after being warned by a local that the last 20 miles to be on the lookout for moose.  So in the late dusk, they rode and when they got into Madawaska, they found there are only 2 motels, the first one was booked, and the last one had 2 rooms, which they took.  I commented on their taking 2 rooms and not sharing, and Terry said they only had single beds and Mark was bigger than him and he didn't want the floor.

They completed their paperwork over dinner, did their pictures in the dark, and found out the town is all in support of the 4 corners tour.  They even made a park in its honor and everyone in town knows about the "4 corners"!

Madawaska Four Corners Monument Park - Main Street  
The main goal of creating a Four Corner Park and Monument is to attract tourism. It is also to promote our town as the most Northeastern town and one of the four corners of the United States.  The project committee plans to prepare an actual implementation plan during the winter of 2005.  Work could begin once the ground is thawed and completion of the park is expected for spring 2006.  For more information on the Four Corners Monument Park go to: www.madawaska.org          

Well, I guess that article is a bit old.  The park is complete and Terry and Mark both went there and took some pictures, again, this was about 9ish their time.  

As they stand now, they plan to ride into Canada and over to Thunder Bay on Lake Superior, then decide whether to continue on in Canada, or drop back down into the states.                                            

What a day !!

Mark tried to impress me with a fish tail out of the toll booth, but I wasn't. He looked like he had just had a stroke. The Harley seems to be holding together. The new pipes did wonders. They are the only thing that looks clean. It seems the the only time the Harley gets cleaned is when it rains, (hasn't rained for 3 days).

Major fopaw (2) today, I am trying to read the GPS and watch the road signs, I'm so confused, missed the 95 turn and ended up at the Pentagon. Mark saved me and lead me on a scenic tour of downtown Washington D.C.  He said he had never been there before, but he knew his way out, go figure. Lots of surfaces streets and traffic (great tour guide) but he found his (and mine) way out of D. C. back on the Interstate. Got to see the Bronx (sp), I told Mark that we were taking on some local color but I was sure it would wash off.

Day 7, Friday, September 5

Okay, here we go.  They are starting to feed me some things to put in the blog, and they are going to see if they can upload some pictures to me in awhile.

First thing said," it was another excruciating day".  Having to travel through the major cities like  Washington, DC, Terry said he made a major blunder with the GPS and dropped them at the Pentagon and then had to wind around surface streets, like by the Washington Monument, etc. which Mark enjoyed seeing.  Lots of traffic and not the way to put down the miles.

He said that taking 95  through New Jersey was a joke.  And allot of toll roads, with "slime", that wonderful combination of coolant and oil from the cars, which is slicker than snot to try and balance your bike while getting out the money.  Then Terry is still trying to figure why out Mark only had to pay .40 and he had to pay .70!  Then while Mark was impressing the toll operator by grabbing a handful of throttle, generated a slight heart palpitation when his bike fishtailed away!

Then, Terry dropped the bike, at a standstill, while pulled off on the side at an off ramp to adjust the seat.  The bike rolled forward and off the side stand!  And that bike is a heavy pig to pick up.

So for now, they will do a bit of laundry and go look at another beemer that Terry spotted on ebay before he left, and yes, that is in Rhode Island.  Who knows, if he buys it, ...well, hard to say...

Let's see, oh yes.....Terry wanted me to post that apparently Subway Sandwiches bring out an aggression in Mark, give him a Subway, and that throttle gets twisted and off he goes!  

And, then Mark called me to tell me about a little story today.  Sometime this morning, Mark follows Terry off the freeway, towards a church, and he is not quite sure what is going on, Terry says, just give him a minute, (Mark not sure what is going on, did he need to go into the chapel?)  but Terry says he can't go further without a quick nap, Terry neglected to tell Mark that he can power nap, and in 10-15 minutes be ready to run.

So, they pull into this "deserted" church parking lot.  Terry rolls up his jacket, sticks it under his head, on the asphalt of the parking lot.  So Mark pulls out a Power Bar and eats a snack while Terry regenerates.  Now Mark says there was a school there, unbeknownst to them and a firedrill commences and out comes all these kidlets and spots this guy lying on the parking lot and one leaning against his bike snacking.  Terry said he could hear some commotion, but it wasn't until he opened his eyes, that he say the kids staring at him and the Principal asking if he needed assistance!  Mark was rolling!  

Day 6, 9/4 Thursday

They got a few more miles in today, with great weather.  They are ending the day in Dunn, NC   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunn,_North_Carolina.  

They stopped at a Harley Dealer

www.brucerossmeyer.com 

close to Daytona Beach, FL so Mark could put some new pipes on.  And apparently they are getting better gas milage and the Harley is running great.  And I believe he got a service in on it as well.  So, for those in the pool, Mark is still in the game!

Tomorrow, Terry has an appointment for service on the beemer in Falmouth, Maine.  www.town.falmouth.me.us 

www.streetcycles.com

Rand McNally gives me a milage count of 850 for tomorrow.  He says it will be no problem.  With the miles they did today, that included 3 hrs at the Harley Shop.

And from there it will be an easy sprint to the 3rd corner, Madawaska, Maine.

Day 5, 9/3

The recap for today is they made it to Key West, FL. YEAH!! to checkpoint #2. It was a long, slow, hot ride down and back. On the way down, they came across their first road kill...a 6' alligator! The rangers were there to remove it from the roadway. They were told that they (the alligators, not the Rangers) come out at night and it wouldn't have been good if they had hit it. Mark remarked later to Terry, that if the Rangers had not been there, he would've strapped that puppy to the bike and kept going!

They did 433 miles in 9 hrs and averaged only 47 mph. Excruiatingly slow and so hot and humid.

They are 3-4 miles out of Fort Lauderdale and will continue now all the way up 95 if it continues to look like the most direct route.

Now they will need to maneuver around the asphalt jungles of Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

Looks like Hannah is a tropical storm and not a threat as previously expected.

Onward boys! Vaya con Dios!

Day 4 complete

Well, here is to modern day communications and my skills to communicate.  Terry called this evening from Naples, FL.  My concerns were only due to lack of connecting.  They ended up staying in Nasheville, TN last night and he forgot he said he would call.  Apologies...and they got up or left at 4:30 am this morning, as I suspected to make a good day of it.  They did not hit any rain until after noon.  They are tucked in, bellies full and they will make it to Key West tomorrow.  They do not have to push to get up too early, as they want daylight to cross the Everglades and take in the scenery.  I cannot imagine what they will see tomorrow.  He says it will take around 3.5 hrs in and then the same (duh) out.  

So far this is what they have done:

Day 1, 8/30 Sat...SLO to San Ysidro, Ca to Tuscon, AZ...750 miles 

Day 2, 8/31 Sun...Tucson, AZ to Shamrock, TX...779 miles

Day 3, 9/1 Mon...Shamrock, TX to Nasheville, TN...826 miles

Day 4, 9/2 Tue...Nasheville, TN to Naples, FL...925 miles

They figured they added an additional 463 running north from Gustav, to make a total of 3280 miles so far.

This is what they fill out and mail in for confirmation of their having been at each corner.

Tomorrow's destination.  

Sept 2

Waiting, waiting, waiting.....
The last communication with Terry was yesterday, on the 1st at 5pm our time, 7pm theirs. They were stopping for gas in Nasheville, TN and he was hoping to do another 50-60 miles. I anticipated my nightly phone call after they had dinner to recap on their day and get their projected route for the next day (today). But it did not come.
So, here we wait, l have left 2 voice mails and Karen has left Mark a message too, though he doesn't keep in touch quite as often. So I surmise that they rode late last night and off early today to beat Hannah to Key West, FL.
I will post again when I hear from them.
Oh yes, I understand that yesterday, up unitl I spoke with Terry, was their first rain free day!